Repaying the Favor
by Kristen3
Summary: AU take on "The Return of Martin Crane." During the Billy Joel concert, Daphne comes to an important realization about how much Martin means to her, and to the entire Crane family. One-shot.


Daphne cheered louder than she ever had before. This Billy Joel concert was every bit as wonderful as she'd thought it would be. And knowing that Niles was here by her side made it even better. But then she caught a glimpse of her watch. 9:30. She winced, thinking of poor Eddie, and how no one wanted to give him his nightly walk at ten.

Niles noticed that Daphne was suddenly quiet. "Is something wrong? I thought you were enjoying the concert."

"I am. But it's nine-thirty, which means it's nearly time to walk Eddie."

"Is that what's bothering you?" Niles asked. "Frasier promised he would find someone to do it. He can probably blackmail Roz into doing it." He laughed, knowing his brother's producer had no shortage of secrets that could be used against her. Frasier had done it before.

"I know, but I keep thinking of your father. He's starting his new job tonight, and he asked us to do one simple favor for him. None of us would do it. We're horrible. All of us."

Niles turned to Daphne, taking her hands in his. "We're not horrible. If it had been any other night, one of us would have been glad to do it. There was a scheduling issue. It happens. Dad was mad, but I'm sure he'll get over it."

"I know," Daphne admitted. "But I love your father. He's like me own dad. Actually, more like a father than my real one."

"I love Dad, too. He raised me and Frasier. I don't take that lightly."

Daphne kissed him. "It's not just that. He was the one who wanted to hire me, even though your brother wanted nothing to do with me. If it hadn't been for him, we would never have gotten together."

Niles thought for a moment. He hadn't thought about it like that. "Well, would you like to leave the concert?" Though this was hardly Niles' choice of an evening, he hated the thought of Daphne cutting her night short.

It took Daphne a moment to answer. "Yes." She knew Niles had gone to an awful lot of trouble to get these tickets, and she loved him for it. But the fact of the matter was that none of it would have been possible without his father.

"All right, then. We'll go straight back to Frasier's and take Eddie on his walk," Niles said at once. "Going on a romantic walk with you in the moonlight actually sounds perfect."

Daphne kissed Niles. No matter what she needed or wanted, he was always there. For seven years, she'd been blind to the love he offered, and now she would spend her life making up for that.

Within minutes, Niles and Daphne had made their way out to the car. Niles carefully drove them out of the parking lot and back towards Elliot Bay Towers. Unfortunately, traffic was not on their side. When the pulled into Elliot Bay's parking structure, Daphne's watch read 9:55. "We just made it," she said.

They quickly went inside and rode the elevator up nineteen floors. They were met by Frasier, who was just about unlock his apartment door. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Daphne wanted to come back," Niles explained. "She felt bad that none of us wanted to walk Eddie."

Frasier sighed. "No matter how much cash I offered Roz, or what I threatened her with, she wouldn't budge. So here I am, giving up a rare evening of Mongolian throat-singing just so I can walk Dad's dog!"

"Dr. Crane, I know Eddie can be a handful, but he does mean an awful lot to your father," Daphne said.

"Yes, well, still, that mutt has gotten hair all over my furniture for the past nine years!" Frasier replied. "You'll pardon me if I'm not quite swayed by his attempts to act cute."

Daphne walked over to her boss. "Of course you're right. But I started thinking tonight, where would I be if it hadn't been for your father? He's the one who hired me, remember?"

Frasier's anger softened. "You're right, Daphne. I couldn't see your particular charms at the time."

"Well, it's a good thing your father did, or Niles and I would never have met. That's why I decided that doing this for your father was more important than a concert. I'll have other chances to see Billy Joel."

On impulse, Frasier hugged her. "You really have changed a lot of things in this family," he said.

"Well, thank you," Daphne replied, blushing. "But I'd better get in there and tend to Eddie. You can go back to your concert now if you like."

"No, I don't think I will," Frasier said, after a moment of consideration. "I'll stay here and wait up for Dad. I want to hear how his first night went." He opened the door to his apartment, and Niles and Daphne went in.

While Daphne went to find Eddie and get his leash, Niles turned to his brother. "You're a good son."

"So are you," Frasier replied. "And a good brother, too." They hugged.

A moment later, Daphne returned, leading a very excited Eddie. "Are you ready to go?" she asked Niles.

"Of course," Niles said, walking over and slipping his hand into her free one. From the very beginning, Niles had known that Daphne was a special person, one who constantly put others before herself. But tonight, he was reminded of how lucky he was to have her in his life. _No_ , he mentally corrected himself. _How lucky we all are._

 **The End**


End file.
